VALPARAISO | Four years ago, Adam Rundh was sure he knew what direction his life was going.

The Denmark native graduated from high school in Sweden in 2005 and was set to take a year off before joining the police academy. Rundh figured that with school complete, it was time to get a job, one he imagined at which he'd work until retirement.

Then an opportunity arose, one that would change his life forever.

Rundh was coming to the United States to play football for Valparaiso University.

"If I didn't play football, I would've never gone to college," Rundh said. "Football has given me a view into other things in the world, things I would've never seen."

Rundh shares a background, a path and a tale with 15 other international athletes that currently compete at VU. With the school holding homecoming festivities this weekend, it is an ironic celebration for a group of athletes who are nowhere close to home.

Europe puts Valpo on the map

International athletes have been competing at Valparaiso for years, but the first notorious players linked to a team in the national spotlight were Sweet 16 teammates Tony Vilcinskas (Lithuania) and Zoran Viskovic (Croatia). The "Twin Towers" gave men's basketball coach Homer Drew a force in the middle.

"In the beginning when (current Baylor coach) Scott (Drew) was still an assistant, we just couldn't get the size from kids here, so he said he'd go overseas," Drew said. "Scott went to a tournament in Slovenia and came back with some names, one of which turned out to be Tony."

Prior to common use of the Internet, Drew and his staff found that Valparaiso was no different than Duke or North Carolina in the eyes of international recruits. All three schools presented overseas players a chance to play sports in America.

That same philosophy remains in use today by men's soccer coach Mike Avery.

"When you're talking to a kid from Jalisco, Mexico, he might not know the difference between a Notre Dame, an IU or a Valparaiso," Avery said. "It might not even be that they don't know the difference, but they don't care. They can get a good education and possibly even a scholarship."

One or the other

Drew and Avery have plenty of experience with overseas recruiting, and that experience paid off this year with the addition of Milos Milosevic (basketball) and Stefan Antonijevic (soccer). While both have spent some time living in the States, Milosevic hails from Montenegro while Antonijevic spent his formative years in Serbia. The two arrived on campus in August and immediately decided to live together.

"I felt relieved that I could find a roommate who I could relate to," Antonijevic said. "We're from the same area, we're both athletes, we enjoy the same things. It makes sense."

Milosevic enjoys having Antonijevic as his roommate, partly because he enjoys speaking his native language, Montenegrin, to someone who understands him, even if Antonijevic's Serbian accent is slightly different.

"It's kind of like someone from Georgia trying to talk to someone from California," Milosevic said. "It's the same, but it's different."

Milosevic, like many of the international athletes at Valparaiso, was faced with a difficult decision regarding his future. He could've stayed in Montenegro and played basketball, or he could've stayed and become a student. Doing both was not an option.

"Here, you can play basketball and you can go to school," Milosevic said. "It's one or the other back home."

Adapting to America

While playing sports in the U.S. offers plenty of opportunities to international athletes, there are several hurdles that must be overcome.

Some are complex, like homesickness and the language barrier, while others are simple, yet annoying.

"The weather, that's the main difference," Jamaican basketball player Michael Rogers said. "You have to bundle up here -- put everything that you have on -- just to walk back from the gym. You've got snow blowing in your face and you're just trying to warm up. Home isn't anything like this."

The Internet has made life a lot easier for international athletes at Valparaiso. There is more information about the school online to give the athletes a better idea of what they're getting into. The Web also provides an easier form of communication with family members with tools such as Skype and instant messaging.

"Skype is the best option because I can talk to my parents for hours at a time, and it's free," Brazilian soccer player Israel Bisoni said. "It really helps with homesickness."

While there is no doubt the transition for international athletes to America is tough, the American players also must adapt to playing with their international teammates.

Drew and Avery each go through painstaking measures to make sure both groups of athletes are comfortable with their surroundings and their teammates, but at the end of the day, they know that competition ultimately brings everyone together.

"The most fun for me is seeing that regardless of where we're from, what our skin color is, what our religious beliefs are, we have far more in common than we have differences," Avery said. "That's the beauty of sport right there."

SUNDAY SPECIAL | VU'S INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

International Athletes Sport Year Country

Stefan Antonijevic Men's Soccer So. Croatia

Israel Bisoni Men's Soccer Sr. Brazil

Ryan Broekhoff Men's Basketball Fr. Australia

J.J. Del Castillo Men's Soccer Sr. Mexico

Toshko Ganzorigt Men's Swimming Jr. Mongolia

Roby Del Giudice Men's Soccer Jr. Canada

Rodolfo Lucas Men's Soccer Sr. Brazil

Milos Milosevic Men's Basketball So. Montenegro

Michael Rogers Men's Basketball Jr. Jamaica

Adam Rundh Football Sr. Denmark

James Shang Men's Swimming Jr. China

Hrvoje Vucic Men's Basketball Fr. Croatia

Cameron Witt Men's Basketball So. Australia

Wei Ming Wong Men's Soccer So. Hong Kong

Sylwia Zabielewicz Women's Basketball Sr. Poland

Kelvin Zelee Men's Soccer So. Liberia